This section is intended to introduce various aspects of the art, which may be associated with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. This discussion is believed to assist in providing a framework to facilitate a better understanding of particular aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that this section should be read in this light, and not necessarily as admissions of prior art.
In hydrocarbon exploration, development, and/or production stages, different types of data are acquired and utilized to create subsurface models. The subsurface models may be used to represent the subsurface structures, which may include a description of a subsurface structures and material properties for a subsurface region. For example, the subsurface model may be a geologic model, a geomechanical model, or a reservoir model. The measured or interpreted data for the subsurface region may be utilized to create the subsurface model and/or to refine the subsurface model. For example, a geologic model may represent measured or interpreted data for the subsurface region, such as seismic data and well log data, and may have material properties, such as rock properties. As another example, a reservoir model may be used to simulate flow of fluids within the subsurface region. Accordingly, the subsurface models may include different scales to lessen the computations for modeling or simulating the subsurface within the model.
The development of the subsurface models may be problematic. For example, the measurement data may involve uncertainty regarding the specific properties and/or structures associated with a subsurface region. In particular, seismic data provides information at a coarser granularity than well logs and/or core samples. Accordingly, the seismic data may be utilized to provide coarse locations and/or properties, but any associated subsurface model may be based on assumptions (e.g., uncertainty).
To lessen the uncertainty in the subsurface model, well logs may be utilized to provide additional data for the subsurface region. Further, core samples or plugs may be obtained for analysis. In particular, the analysis may involve determining detailed flow data for the individual core plugs, which may involve obtaining measurements from the core plugs. Unfortunately, the analysis may be time-consuming and expensive. Also, the measured data can be difficult to relate to the underlying rock description, as provided by the geology, which focuses on the pore structure of the associated rock and its texture or fabric. While rocks with common geologic characteristics may be grouped by facies, it may be beneficial to relate facies to flow characteristics.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the industry for methods and systems that are more efficient and may lessen problems associated with subsurface modeling for hydrocarbon operations. Further, a need remains for an enhanced method to obtain, process, and evaluate data that relate how size, shape, and location of pores can be directly linked to flow characteristics, thus lessening uncertainty in subsurface models and techniques that may be efficiently used to recover hydrocarbons. Moreover, a need exists to enhance understanding of the presence, distribution, characteristics, and subsurface properties. The present techniques, which may link together geology description and flow characteristics, provide a method and apparatus that overcome one or more of the deficiencies discussed above.